We 're leaving . No , you 're not .

That 's where the crisis in Ukraine stood Thursday after lawmakers in Crimea voted in favor of leaving the country for Russia and putting it to a regional vote in 10 days .

This act drew widespread condemnation , with Ukrainian interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk calling such a referendum `` an illegitimate decision . ''

`` Crimea was , is and will be an integral part of Ukraine , '' he said .

It was a sentiment echoed by several world leaders , who called the scheduled vote and possible pullout violations of Ukrainian and international law .

`` Any discussion about the future of Ukraine must include the legitimate government of Ukraine , '' said U.S. President Barack Obama . `` In 2014 , we are well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders . ''

It 's not clear how easily the region could split off from Ukraine even if the referendum endorses the move .

The developments came at a dizzying pace Thursday as Yatsenyuk joined emergency talks in Brussels , Belgium , called by leaders of the European Union who support the Kiev government and want to de-escalate the crisis .

The EU and the United States announced plans to freeze the assets of Viktor Yanukovych , who was ousted as Ukraine 's president after he turned his back on a trade deal with the EU in favor of one with Russia .

The rejected trade deal prompted months of protests that culminated in February with bloody street clashes that left dozens dead and Yanukovych out of office .

Interpol said it is reviewing a request by Ukrainian authorities that would allow for the arrest of Yanukovych on charges of abuse of power and murder , an allegation tied to the death of protesters .

Moscow has denounced the events that led to Yanukovych 's ouster as an illegitimate coup and has refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities , putting the two countries on a collision course over control of the Crimea , a peninsula on the Black Sea that has long ties to Russia and has thousands of Russian troops stationed there .

Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted he has the right to use military force in Ukraine if necessary to protect ethnic Russians under threat in Crimea . Ukrainian officials say no such threat exists and say Putin is using it as a pretext to control the region .

As the standoff continued , Ukrainian authorities announced the arrest Thursday of a leader of a pro-Russian movement in the eastern city of Donetsk . Authorities said he is a Ukrainian national named Pavlo Gubarev , a self-proclaimed governor of Donetsk .

In Crimea , worlds collide

Growing divide

The crisis threatens to not only divide Ukraine , but Russia and the West . Those two sides have exchanged barbs and threatened punitive measures against each other in recent days , all while offering divergent views on the situation in Crimea .

Two diplomats at the center of the crisis -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov -- met face-to-face on Thursday . They agreed to continue talking `` over the course of the next hours , the next days '' to try to find a political solution to end the crisis , Kerry told reporters following the meeting .

The diplomats ' bosses , Obama and Putin , talked for an hour Thursday afternoon , with the U.S. president stating `` Russia 's actions are in violation of Ukraine 's sovereignty '' and that there is a diplomatic way out , according to the White House .

Putin 's office said the call -- initiated by Obama -- `` revealed differences in approaches and assessments of the causes of the crisis and the current situation . '' He also voiced Russia 's view it `` can not ignore calls for help '' from eastern and southeastern Ukraine , before concluding that Lavrov and Kerry `` will continue intensive contacts . ''

Such conversations have n't stopped either side from taking action .

EU nations , for instance , announced Thursday they will suspend bilateral talks with Russia on visa matters and have threatened travel bans , asset freezes and cancellation of the EU-Russia summit .

`` Any further steps by the Russian Federation to destabilize the situation in Ukraine would lead to additional and far reaching consequences for relations in a broad range of economic areas , '' EU leaders said , having also threatened travels bans on certain Russians and the freezing of some assets .

The United States has taken action . The State Department has imposed a visa ban on Russian and Ukrainian officials and others that it says are responsible for , or complicit in , threatening Ukraine 's sovereignty and territorial integrity . Obama signed an executive order laying the groundwork for sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for the crisis .

Despite such pressure , Russia has n't budged , even refusing to engage in direct talks with the new Ukrainian authorities in Kiev . As his office noted after the Obama call , Putin believes this government `` is a result of an unconstitutional revolution '' and imposed `` illegitimate decisions . ''

The dispute has threatened to boil into a military conflict .

Putin has denied claims by Ukrainian officials and Western diplomats that Russia has sent thousands of troops into the region in recent days . Moscow says the heavily armed troops , who are in uniforms without insignia and who have reportedly encircled Ukrainian bases , are local `` self-defense '' forces .

Meanwhile , Russia has begun an air defense drill 280 miles -LRB- 450 kilometers -RRB- from Ukraine 's border , reports Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti . A military spokesman called it `` the largest-ever exercise held by air defense units '' in the region .

Russian authorities said the drills are part of a regular combat training cycle , according to the news agency . But the move comes a day after the U.S. military announced it was beefing up the number of fighter jets in the Baltics , adding six F-15s to the four participating in a NATO mission in the region .

Five possible ways to end the crisis

Voting for Russia or Ukraine ?

Amid all the diplomatic wrangling , it is Ukrainians who are most directly affected . And they hardly are speaking with one voice .

Furor in the western part of the country over Yanukovych , his powers and his bringing Ukraine closer to Russia led to his ouster . Now , most people here support the new government and oppose Russian intervention , as well as the prospect of Crimea becoming part of Russia .

The sentiment tends to be very different in Crimea -- which was part of Russia until being given to Ukraine in 1954 by Soviet leader Nikita Kruschev -- and other parts of southern and eastern Ukraine .

Late last month , the parliament in Crimea installed a new , pro-Moscow government late last month -- as armed , pro-Russian men besieged the parliament building -- and does not recognize the authorities in Kiev .

Citizens will be allowed to vote on March 16 on whether they want an autonomous republic of Crimea within Russia ; or within Ukraine .

The autonomous region has a 60 % ethnic Russian population , having been part of Russia until it was ceded to Ukraine in 1954 by the Soviet Union . But not everyone may be as keen on coming under Moscow 's direct influence . About 25 % of the peninsula 's population is Ukrainian and about 12 % is Crimean Tatar , a predominantly Muslim group .

As riot police looked on , hundreds gathered Thursday in the southern port city of Odessa under the flag of the former Soviet Union calling for unity with Russia .

`` We are all standing here for Russia , '' one masked protester told CNN 's Matthew Chance . `` None of us wants to be part of the European Union . ''

Late Thursday , the management of the hotel in the Crimean capital of Simferopol where CNN has been based told the network to stop broadcasting from there . Other media outlets got the same message , and no reason was given .

Not everyone in this region wants to become part of Russia . Protesters , including one topless woman who was dragged away screaming , railed against the Crimean parliament vote and Putin . But they were drowned out by a heckling , pro-Russian crowd .

Alex Shiroki , from Yalta , said that his boss asked him , point-blank , `` Are you for Ukraine or for Russia ? '' While his boss favors the latter , Shiroki does not , saying he 'd probably leave if Crimea ends up splitting from Ukraine .

U.S. paves way for sanctions on Russians , Ukrainians over Crimea

Michael Crawford , a former British ambassador in Eastern Europe , said that may not happen -- at least easily or peacefully -- even if voters support such a split in the upcoming referendum .

`` For Russia to start cherry-picking bits of the former Soviet Union , cranking up referenda in Kazakhstan or Latvia or wherever you like , to try to carve off bits , would be against international law , '' Crawford said , `` And it would be something Vladimir Putin has said he does n't want to do . ''

Yatsenyuk said that if Ukraine is broken up , the world will have trouble ever getting another country to give up its nuclear weapons program .

Why ? In 1994 , Ukraine agreed to give up its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal in return for guarantees -- signed by the United States , the United Kingdom and Russia -- of its territorial integrity and independence .

What happens now to Ukraine `` will have an impact on nuclear nonproliferation programs , '' Yatsenyuk said .

Live updates of the crisis in Ukraine

U.N. envoy to CNN : Situation in Crimea ` dangerous '

Anchor quits : I ca n't be part of network ` that whitewashes ' Putin 's actions

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Putin to Obama : Russia `` can not ignore the calls for help ''

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Crimean lawmakers set a date for a referendum on staying in Ukraine or joining

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Ukraine 's interim prime minister , U.S. President Obama call such a vote unlawful

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West threatens Russia with punitive actions over Ukraine